A taekwondo athlete who opened an escort agency to fund his campaign to
compete at the London Olympics has succeeded in winning a place on New
Zealand's Games team.

Logan Campbell, 25, opened what he called "a high-class escort agency" near Karangahape Road in Auckland three years ago to help raise the US$250,000 (£160,000) he believed he needed to compete internationally to qualify for London 2012.

When interviewed about his business in 2009, Campbell was quick to point out he was not a pimp in the traditional sense.

"When people think of a pimp they think of a guy standing around on a street corner with gold chains. Pimps are more tough-type guys," he said. "I'm an owner of an escort agency."

He sold the agency a year later after the fundraising move was criticised by Taekwondo New Zealand and the national Olympic committee.

John Schofield, Taekwondo New Zealand's funding manager, said that although Campbell's business would not affect his membership, it would be taken in to account when he was considered for the Olympics team.

He said: "Selection takes into account not just performance but also the athlete's ability to serve as an example to the youth of the country."

But Campbell said "at the time taekwondo wasn't getting any funding at all. When the media got involved, (sponsors) started funding taekwondo and I didn't need the escort agency anymore."

Campbell, who said he took up the sport after watching the film Karate Kid as a child, will compete in the under-60 kilogram class.

He finished in the top 16 in the featherweight division at the Beijing Games, after losing his first match against reigning world champion Yu-Chi Sung, of Taiwan, who finished with the bronze medal.